Zach at the Underground Gym.

The typical gym is often packed with machines. The lifters kill the pulldowns, rows and chins using straps on every set, including their 100 lb warm up sets.
Grip strength is not thought about, pumping the forearms is done half heartedly with some light wrist curls…maybe.
With serious lifters leaving the fancy gyms and opting for their garage, basement or backyard – grip strength is becoming a serious focus.


It’s becoming serious because these undergrounders realize that weak hands are related to a weak man. If you wanna lift big, the hands must be strong and they must be trained….HARD.
The earlier in the game you start, the better off you will be.
I learned this big time after I met Steve Maxwell for the first time. He told me that when his son was 4, he hung a rope from the ceiling so his son would have to climb up and down the rope to go upstairs rather than using the stairs.
At the time, Steve’s son was a teen and he told me that his son had much larger hands than his own, which led to his feelings that the training of hands – especially at a young age – can help mold the hands into more than what they were predisposed to.
Today, in my gym, there are no straps to aid in the grip. There is lots of rope climbing, rope training (attached to sleds, kettlebells, battling ropes, tug of war), thick handled devices and all around emphasis on hand strength.

There is nothing fancy about it, and 1 – 2 x week our athletes hit some dedicated hand and grip work. The typical exercises:

• rolling thunder holds
• captains of crush
• wrist rollers
• plate pinching
• dumbbell / barbell wrist curls / reverse wrist curls
• dumbbell hex holds

Still, the workouts themselves are always chipping away at grip and hand strength. Lots of pull ups, rope climbs, kettlebell work, sandbag work, thick bar training and the like.
It’s very much like the artist who chips away for long days and months at the large stone, until eventually the masterpiece is created.
We take the same approach to training the hands and grip. Chipping away at each workout with 1 or 2 dedicated grip workouts at the end of a workout each week.
The bottom line? Chip away every day, the powerful grip and crushing hand strength will come. Dedication and hard work will take you further than anything fancy.